Star Wars Starfighter: Dandelion Squadron
---- All fanon and fictional. All feedback is appreciated! ---- Star Wars Starfighter: Dandelion Squadron is a Star Wars canon video game developed by Tachibana Games and published by Electronic Arts for the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and for the Steam platform on Windows 10. The game is set during the Galactic Civil War. The game's story follows an Alliance Starfighter Corps unit known as Dandelion Squadron that was formed by an unknown Alliance pilot which is later taken over by Yang Xiao Long and Blake Belladonna after the Battle over Bestine IV. After the battle, both women agree to leading the squadron as Dandelion Leader and Dandelion Two. In the ''Battle of Hoth'' expansion, Ruby Rose becomes the protagonist, replacing Yang Xiao Long. A reason for this was because Yang or Dandelion Squadron weren't present on Hoth when the battle occurred. Gameplay Much like 2001's Star Wars: Starfighter, players will be able to control and battle against starfighters in Starfighter: Dandelion Squadron. At launch, there are six available starfighters for the Rebel Alliance and Galactic Empire. There are also skins for the Starfighters. There are no ground-based missions in Starfighter. With Frostbite 3.0, the developers were able to make the game look beautiful and able to run at a constant frame rate of 60. Several improvements were made to the engine in order to support any additions that Tachibana Games might add in the future for the game. Similar to Morningwood Arts' ''Star Wars Battlefront'' reboot series, players earn in-game credits which are used to unlock Starfighter Variants added in updates such as the TIE/LN Ultra and TIE/D Defender Assault, they can also be used to unlock Starfighter skins. Credits can be earned from challenges, completing Campaign missions as well as from matches based on performance, objective and combat scores. However in the ''Battle of Hoth'' expansion story mission Imperial Echoes, players will experience a ground mission with an Imperial Stormtrooper as the protagonist. Singleplayer In the singleplayer campaign, players control Yang Xiao Long as she takes command of her customized Y-wing assault starfighter/bomber. In a prologue mission, players take control of her starfighter when an ''Imperial I''-class Star Destroyer arrives in orbit above Bestine IV. Battle over Bestine IV The "Battle over Bestine IV" is the first mission that shows how Yang became the leader of Dandelion Squadron. As the Alliance conducts a mission to extract a valuable asset crucial to the Rebellion's fight against the Empire. The Fallen Maiden "The Fallen Maiden" is the second mission which follows Dandelion Squadron's attack on an ''Imperial I''-class Star Destroyer called the Fallen Maiden which was responsible for the destruction of Scarif Battalion on Tatooine. Assault Under The Night The "Assault Under The Night" is the third mission which depicts Dandelion Squadron's attack on the Midsummer Night which is commanded by Imperial Navy Admiral Annabelle Nakamura who was also known as the "Aggressive Admiral". Raid on Solemn Penance The "Raid on Solemn Penance" is the fourth mission which depicts Dandelion Squadron's raid on the Imperial Star Destroyer Solemn Penance to rescue members of Rose Squadron, an Alliance Starfighter Corps unit whom were captured above Corellia and are being sent to the Mustafar Prison Facilities. Imperial Eclipse The "Imperial Eclipse" is the fifth mission which depicts Dandelion Squadron as they raid the Imperial shipyards at Anaxes after learning that a prototype of a new class of Star Destroyer was being built at the yards. Realizing its potential danger to the Alliance, the Alliance Starfighter Command send Dandelion Squadron along with the Messenger to destroy it. The Mark Xs "The Mark Xs" is the sixth mission which depicts Dandelion Squadron and Rose Squadron as they are sent to destroy an Imperial Advanced Weapons Research factory housing several completed AT-ST Mark X prototypes as well as their blueprints. However in an emergency response, an element of the Fleet of Imperial Justice is sent to the factory and defends the factory against the Alliance starfighters. Imperial Justice The "Imperial Justice" is the seventh mission which depicts the aftermath of the attack on the Advanced Weapons Research factory, which Dandelion and Rose Squadrons were successful in destroying, however the Fleet of Imperial Justice, commanded by the Aggressive Admiral, tracked them to the Alliance Fleet and are attacked. The starfighter squadrons are then ordered to defend the fleet from the Imperial Star Destroyers long enough for them to calculate their jumps to light-speed and disappear. Evacuation of Yavin IV The "Evacuation of Yavin IV" is the eighth and final mission which depicts the Alliance to Restore the Republic's efforts to evacuate their hidden headquarters on Yavin IV following their successful attack on the Death Star, the Empire's powerful planet-killing battle station. Battle of Hoth expansion The Battle of Hoth expansion included four new Story Missions, however Yang Xiao Long is not the protagonist and is now Ruby Rose, otherwise known as Rose Leader. Except in the mission "Imperial Echoes" where it is instead an Imperial Snowtrooper. Assault on Echo Base As the Rebel Alliance within Echo Base begins their evacuation procedures, Commander Ruby Rose joins Rogue Squadron in defending Echo Base against incoming Imperial All Terrain Armoured Transports, flying as Rogue Ten with her friend Weiss Schnee as her gunner. Imperial Echoes As Echo Base personnel are evacuating, an elite force of Stormtroopers led by the Sith Lord Darth Vader enter the base; clearing out all Alliance personnel while also retrieving important data from the base's command center for High Command. This is the first mission in the entire game that is a ground mission, played in the perspective of the Galactic Empire. Defense of Outpost Delta After the loss of Echo Base, Rebel forces stationed in other bases are still evacuating. With Outpost Delta facing an ''Imperial''-class Star Destroyer, Rose Squadron enters their X-wing Starfighters to assist Outpost Delta by holding off waves of TIE fighters and eventually taking down the Star Destroyer. Twilight With Outpost Delta evacuated, Rose Squadron receives a distress signal from a group of Alliance GR-75 transports needing both assistance and starfighter escort in order to take off and escape Hoth. Rose Squadron comes to aid the Alliance transports, tasked with neutralizing TIE fighters as well as AT-STs and an Imperial Lieutenant Commander. Multiplayer The multiplayer mode allows up to 30 players to partake in two modes; Starfighter Assault and Fighter Squadron on various maps set during the Galactic Civil War. In these modes, players are able to take control of various types of Wing type starfighters and TIE series fighters in both space and atmospheric battles. In the multiplayer, there are 100 ranks that players can obtain and are rewarded with credits for reaching the next rank. *2 - 20 = 500 credits *21 - 40 = 750 credits *41 - 60 = 1000 credits *61 - 70 = 1500 credits *71 - 80 = 2000 credits *81 - 85 = 2000 credits *86 - 90 = 2000 credits *91 - 95 = 2000 credits *96 - 99 = 3000 credits *99 - 100 = 4000 credits There are only two modes available in Starfighter: Dandelion Squadron, Starfighter Assault and Fighter Squadron. For maps, there are several that players can play on which are set at different planets within the galaxy. Starfighter Assault is a 30 player game mode with an additional forty AI bots, and each map having unique objectives tailored to its design. The mode is also taken from EA's Star Wars Battlefront II. The mode Fighter Squadron is an ariel team deathmatch where players dogfight each other for points that they would need to win the game. In this mode, there are no other objectives but eliminating the other team. With the Rose Squadron DLC pack, Starfighter Variants are introduced which are variations of existing starfighters in the game. According to design director Anakin Nakamura, all Starfighter Variants added in with "Starfighter Updates" will be free for all players. Starfighters Heroes Starfighter Skins In Starfighter: Dandelion Squadron, there are several starfighter skins which only change the decals and appearance of starfighters. At launch, these were available exclusively for Rebel Alliance starfighters until the first Starfighter Update which added Imperial starfighter skins, and subsequent updates. *Alliance Starfighters **Dandelion Squadron **Rose Squadron (DLC) **Bright Squadron (Update) *Imperial Starfighters **Crimson Squadron (Update) **Phantom Squadron (Update) **Shadow Squadron (Update) Gamemodes *Starfighter Assault *Fighter Squadron Maps An (FS) indicates a Fighter Squadron map. An (SA) indicates a Starfighter Assault map. *Bestine IV (SA, FS) *''Fallen Maiden'' (SA, FS) *''Midsummer Night'' (SA, FS) *''Solemn Penance'' (SA, FS) *Anaxes (SA, FS) *Advanced Weapons Research factory (SA, FS) *Alliance Fleet (SA, FS) *Hoth: Outpost Beta* (FS) *Twilight on Hoth* (FS) *Hoth: Outpost Delta* (FS) *Yavin IV Airspace (SA) *Fondor (SA) *Death Star II (SA) *Maps added as part of DLC. Downloadable content Downloadable content were confirmed for the game by Electronic Arts during their E3 press conference, and they would be solely developed by Tachibana Games, and not by any EA members. All future DLC content added with Updates will be free for all players which will include new starfighters, starfighter variants, hero ships, and maps. Paid DLC are confirmed to include announcers, Starfighter skins, and additional maps. The Rose Squadron pack is available for $7.99 on the store, which will grant players access to the content included. Release Dates: *Starfighter Update 1 — November 26th, 2019 *Starfighter Update 2 — December 24th, 2019 *Star Wars Starfighter: Battle of Hoth — January 28th, 2020 *Starfighter Update 3 — February 4th, 2020 *Star Wars Starfighter: Battles over Tatooine — February 18th, 2020 *Star Wars Starfighter: Battle of the Death Star I — March 10th, 2020 *Starfighter Update 4 — March 17th, 2020 *Star Wars Starfighter: Battle of Endor — March 24th, 2020 *Star Wars Starfighter: Into The Death Star II — March 31st, 2020 *Starfighter Update 5 — April 14th, 2020 *Star Wars Starfighter: Battle of Jakku — May 12th, 2020 *Starfighter Update 6 — June 16th, 2020 *Star Wars Starfighter: Fleet of Imperial Justice — July 28th, 2020 *Starfighter Update 7 — August 11th, 2020 Editions Standard Edition The standard edition of Star Wars Starfighter: Dandelion Squadron only includes the base game. Star Wars Starfighter: Rose Squadron Star Wars Starfighter: Rose Squadron is a special edition of the game that includes the base game and the Rose Squadron pack which contains two hero ships; Crescent Rose and Myrtenaster; a variant of the T-65B X-wing, and also includes Rose Squadron skins going from Three to Twelve. Reception Initial Release Star Wars Starfighter: Dandelion Squadron was released to moderate acclaim. Metacritic, using a normalized rating of the 0-100 range, calculated an average score of 63 out of 100 based on 52 reviews for the PlayStation 4 version, 47 reviews for the Xbox One version and 49 reviews for the PC version. Reviewers praised the gameplay mechanics playing similarly to 2001's Star Wars: Starfighter and the game's crossover status with Rooster Teeth's RWBY, but criticized how short the singleplayer campaign was which only had eight missions. IGN called the game Star Wars Battlefront: Dandelion Squadron as it didn't have much content at launch as DICE's Star Wars Battlefront did in 2015, but like other reviewers, praised the gameplay mechanics and story, saying "the singleplayer campaign at least does some good for this game; one of the elements I found interesting was the mission "Imperial Eclipse" which has you destroying a prototype Star Destroyer and its blueprints, and really makes you wonder how the rest of the Galactic Civil War would've played out had the these prototypes been finalized and produced" in their online review. ''Play'' magazine considered the game to be a short but good successor to the original Star Wars: Starfighter game, and agreed with IGN on the story. Edge wrote "the gameplay is good, but feels more like a Starfighter Assault port from Star Wars Battlefront II and falls a bit short. The campaign is good but short" in their review. An employee of Rooster Teeth wrote "it was kinda of a shame that Tachibana Games didn't ask us for any insight or assistance with the characters during the game's development, though I'd say they did alright. I enjoyed the singleplayer campaign as did everyone else here at the studio, especially the voice actors for both teams RWBY and JNPR." in their blog on the RT website. Many other fans of Star Wars and RWBY also voiced their opinions on the game, with one specifically talking about the multiplayer aspect saying "Star Wars Starfighter: Dandelion Squadron is an okay casual third-person action game that doesn't rely too much on Star Cards or over-the-top action, and while it is lazy on porting over two modes from other Star Wars games, the game makes up for it with the amount of maps available and Starfighter Variants which are kinda lackluster right now since there's only one variant available for the X-wing, and that only comes when you get the Rose Squadron edition of the game, but Tachibana Games has said they'll add more Starfighter Variants with their "Starfighter Updates" post-launch so we'll wait around for that. Overall, the game is okay and I'd recommend it to those who like Starfighters" in a YouTube review video. Trivia *This is the first game a subsidiary of Morningwood Arts developed using a different game engine not owned by them. Category:Articles by Anakin Nakamura Category:Xbox Games Category:Xbox One Games Category:PlayStation 4 Games Category:Star Wars Category:RWBY Category:Crossover Games